A Billet Mom Says “Coins Add Up!”

I save coins and believe me saving it has helped us through some very hard times.  I had saved up over $400 one time and hadn’t got around to depositing it.  At that time we were really strapped for money.  That coin came in handy and helped us to pay off a couple of our bills.

WHERE DO I GET ENOUGH COINS TO SAVE?

Coins can add up very quickly and I love coins.  I take all the coin from my purse and from my husband’s pocket and put it in a jar.  I have found it when out walking, not a lot but every nickel counts.   I have found money at the bus stop and spotted it on the floor in a store.  I am like a tiger when it comes to coin, as soon as I see it I pounce on it.  No one is going to stop me from getting that nickel for my money jar!  I always remember someone saying to me years ago when I saw a penny lying on the sidewalk “you wouldn’t stoop for a penny would you?”  Yes, I would and yes, I did, no amount is too small for me to stoop down and pick up!   Whatever I find I put it in the jar.  Here is an article about saving your loose change.

I save it up and as soon as I get $50 to $100 I put it in the bank.  It doesn’t take long to save up that much.  I never have any coin in my purse because it goes towards my private stash for the bank.  In just a few months I saved up over $200 in coin.  “Oh, right” you might say but it’s true, I did save up that much money.

A POCKET FULL OF CHANGE

I remember working with a guy who always had a pocket full of change.  When he walked he jingled.  He also had the annoying habit of playing with his change which drove all his co-workers nuts!  I don’t ever remember this guy without change in his pocket.

My Billet Sons don’t seem to care much for change.  They sure don’t like carrying it in their pockets.  They leave it everywhere and I find it in their pockets when I go to do laundry, under the bed when cleaning, on their dresser when dusting.  I save it for them or leave it where it is.  One time after one of my Billet Sons had left for the summer I found over $20 in coin around his room.  He didn’t want it back.  Is it any wonder that I just love cleaning up after them, money, money, money!

I would jokingly say to my Billet Sons if you don’t want your change make sure you give it to me I can sure use it!

COUNTING COINS 

On a Sunday after lunch, Mom could often be seen sitting at the kitchen table counting money.  She was the Treasurer for the Church after all.  On a rare occasion she would ask me to count it with her.  I got to put it into $1.00 piles.  If there was a lot of change she would ask me to count it and confirm that her count was correct.

Some time ago I lived with a woman that knew to the penny how much money she had in her change purse.  Oh, I mean her change purses.  She had more than one change purse.  She had one for groceries and one for other stores like the drug store.  She paid for everything with cash.  She didn’t have a Credit Card or Debit Card and refused to have them. Before she went shopping she would make sure she had a certain amount in her change purse.  When she returned home from shopping she would count it again.  She often paid for her groceries using a lot of change.  Whatever she spent from her grocery wallet she replaced the same amount.  She never went over what she had in her wallet.

I thought of her right away when I read this story on being careful on how many coins you use when shopping.  I can only imagine what a scene she would have made if this had happened to her!

My family laughs at me, in a good way, as it isn’t unusual for them to see me sitting at the kitchen table counting my money.  I love to count money!  Even if it is only coins I like to know how much I have and how fast it is growing.  I count it once and then I count it again and heaven forbid my counts don’t match and I have to count it again.  I love to count it over and over again.  It gives me a great feeling.  I have one of those banks at home that counts it for you but I don’t trust it and will still count the contents.

KIDS SAVING THEIR CHANGE

Teaching a child the value of money is important and by setting them up with a piggy bank they can learn at a very young age how important it is to save.  They will likely receive coins for their birthday, from the tooth fairy, for special holidays and from relatives and friends.  Having them save their change by putting it in their piggy bank is a good thing.  Then if the put it in the bank they will be thrilled at what they have been able to save.  They will be surprised at how much money they have saved up.

SAVING YOUR COINS FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL

We have a dog and have checked into Medical Insurance for her but it is expensive and doesn’t cover everything.  I decided in one of my more brilliant moments that our dog should have a bank account.  Then if any emergencies came up there would be money to help with the costs.  Our last dog cost us thousands in medical bills, worth every penny because of what she brought to our lives, but we weren’t prepared.  We now save all our coin and it goes directly into a bank account, our dog’s bank account.   Here is an interesting article on the cost of owning a dog.

If doesn’t really matter what pet you own save your coins for them.  It might sound crazy to do this but there may come a day when you will be glad that you have that money in reserve.  I accumulated over $1,000 in our pet’s bank account in just over a year!

 COIN COLLECTING

A favourite hobby for a lot of people is collecting coins.  My Mother had a coin collection but unfortunately the coins she collected were well used and not in mint condition.  I didn’t continue the practice as I just didn’t have time to do it. However, I wish I had when I see the value of old coins and silver now!

Mom had coin books so she could check and see how much her coins where worth.  I remember years ago that it was a tradition for me to give her a new updated coin book every year for Christmas.

COIN MACHINE SAVE YOUR COIN!

I used to love the coin machine at our bank however, they have discontinued their use.  It seems that there were issues with them counting the coin accurately.  Just the sound of my coins going through that machine gave me goose bumps.   There are coin sorting machines in some of our grocery stores which are great.  However, they do take a little bit back in commission and I refuse to pay commission.  Not even a dime of my money that I have saved up are they going to get.  I am afraid that I still do it the old fashioned way by wrapping my coins and taking them to the bank.

If you have a lot of coin to sort a coin sorter just might be the answer.  They sure can save you a lot of time.  Sometimes the machine can even wrap your coins or there are machines for wrapping.   I have tried several different types but always revert back to counting and wrapping my coins myself.

SAVE YOUR COIN!

To be honest I don’t put every coin in the bank I do hold some of it back.  I have a special little container that I carry with me.  It holds 8 Loonies or 8 Toonies or a combination of both.  This way I always have a little bit of money on me just in case!  My husband always has a small amount of loose change in the car for parking or a coffee.  He doesn’t like me touching his stash of coin!

In conclusion save your coins whether it is for your family pet, to help pay bills, for gifts, a vacation, that something special you want or just to have some extra spending money.  Coin is money which can add up very quickly and you never know when you will need it.